David GrasséFeb 92 minResearch IssuesAmong the projects I am currently working on is a biography of the Edwardian-era English actress Edna Loftus. It is a bit of departure...
David GrasséDec 21, 20213 minSomething NewOf late, I have been busy with two projects. The first is my manuscript entitled (tentatively) "Let's Go Rob a Train" A History of Train...
David GrasséAug 15, 20213 minVolunteerism in ArizonaI have just finished Doing What the Day Brought: An Oral History of Arizona Women, compiled by Mary Logan Rothchild and Pamela Claire...
David GrasséJul 21, 20212 minSomething DifferentThough most my previous books and articles have been about lawmen and outlaws and the justice system (if one can call it that) in the...
David GrasséJun 1, 20211 minOverlookedI started researching the Arizona Territorial Prison in Yuma, while writing a story about the so-called Gates Riot (actually an attempted...
David GrasséApr 15, 20214 min"Keeping History Alive..."Earlier today, April 14th, 2021, the Hashknife Pony Express came riding into Payson to deliver the mail, just as they do every year...
David GrasséApr 10, 20214 minWriting About FamilyLast year, I began a manuscript of a rather personal nature. I began writing about the Reverend David Roberts, my great grandfather on my...
David GrasséFeb 17, 20211 minThe Waiting is the Hardest PartThe manuscript for the Augustine Chacón book and the accompanying photos were delivered to the publisher in early December. I was told...
David GrasséOct 26, 20205 minGiving Back to HolbrookFor years, the towns along the old Route 66 Highway in Arizona - Winslow, Kingman, Holbrook, Williams, Flagstaff, etc. - have survived,...
David GrasséSep 22, 20204 minReinvigorating the Mythology of the Old West"What may transpire in this stagnant posture? Tradition multiplies where repetition reigns And the air smells of age..." - Faith and The...
David GrasséSep 7, 20202 minWhat Not to Write AboutOccasionally, while working on other projects, I will run across what seems an interesting person or topic. By way of example, there was...
David GrasséAug 21, 20201 minCan Not Stop Writing,,,The manuscripts are piling up here in the Grassé household waiting for the subsiding of Covid-19. First, there is the Augustine Chacón...
David GrasséJul 12, 20203 minThe Politicization of the Old WestSome might construe I dislike the old West due to my predilection, in my writing, for tearing down cherished legends. This would be a...
David GrasséJun 2, 20202 minCompare and contrastMost people probably take the State Seal of Arizona for granted. It is an image that appears of government vehicles, flags, websites,...
David GrasséMay 10, 20206 minThe West in CinemaI am not fan of John Wayne films. I think the best film Wayne ever made was The Searchers, and even that ended poorly. The racist...
David GrasséApr 16, 20203 minPrinciple of ParsimonyIn 2001, Michael M. Hickey published a huge tome (496 pages) entitled John Ringo: The Final Hours : A Tale of the Old West. In this...
David GrasséApr 10, 20203 minExcrementos dreckWhen I first began researching my book on Augustine Chacón, I ran across an article, in a popular western history magazine, in which the...
David GrasséMar 22, 20202 minWyatt Earp, ad nauseumI read recently that John Boessenecker has written a new book about Wyatt Earp. Be still my trembling heart. Just what we need - another...
David GrasséMar 19, 20202 minPlagueOur esteemed town council, in reaction to the Covid 19 virus scare, closed the library I work at. At first they estimated the closure...